The Federal Government (through various states) provides basic telecom connectivity to underprivileged individuals through a government-subsidized program named Lifeline (or Link-up). Individuals that participate in Lifeline are allowed to subscribe to only one Lifeline device (e.g., mobile phone) at a time. States have specified the eligibility requirements to participate in the Lifeline program. Individuals that want to obtain a Lifeline device must meet the requirements for their state of residency. For example, some states utilize criteria that individuals must be on a low-income program (e.g., Welfare, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Federal Housing Assistance Program—Section 8, etc.) to be eligible for the Lifeline program.
An individual's initial eligibility is verified by the individual physically signing a form stating that the individual meets the state's criteria. The individual may have to sign this form yearly to remain in the Lifeline program. The FCC has identified that fraud, waste, and abuse are occurring via Lifeline services because Lifeline services are being provided to individuals that do not meet the eligibility requirements and/or to individuals that are subscribed to more than one service at a time (see NPRM FCC-11-32 released Mar. 4, 2011).
Methods and systems which would reduce the identified fraud, waste, and abuse would be beneficial. This disclosure describes methods and systems which may verify eligibility requirements. Further, this disclosure describes methods and systems which identify participants that may be utilizing more than one service at a time. These methods and systems would reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in the Lifeline program.